Protectors to Promoters
National representative Greshan Dananjaya, hold the Sri Lanka record for the triple jump, which was set last year - Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera
From Olympic medallists Duncan White to Susanthika Jayasinghe, the Sri Lanka Army could proudly claim to have produced some of the greatest athletes the country has ever seen. Captain Duncan White who joined the SL Army in 1943 as an officer of the Light Infantry Regiment dazzled at the 1948 London Olympic Games to bag a silver medal in the 400 metre hurdles. Susanthika who was briefly attached to the 3rd Battalion Sri Lanka Army Women’s Corps (SLAWC) emulated White’s feat at the 2000 Sydney Games to become the country’s second Olympic medallist.
The Army has served as a fertile breeding ground for a multitude of national and international sports men and women including the oldest living athlete once dubbed the ‘fastest man in Asia’ Summa Navaratnam who was the best athlete at the Army Inter-Regiment Athletics Championships in 1952. Among them are Olympians Leenus Dias (1960 Rome), K. Karunananda (1964 Tokyo), Wimalasena Perera (1968 Mexico), W. Wimaladasa (1972 Munich), V.K.L. Samarasinghe (1988 Seoul), K.A. Karunaratne (1982 Barcelona), Chinthaka de Soyza (1996 Atlanta), Harijan Rathnayaka, Sarath Prasanna Gamage and Thamara Saman Deepika (2000 Sydney), Manjula Kumara and Anuradha Indrajith Cooray (2004 Athens), Nadeeka Lakmali (2008 Beijing), and Asian Games medallists S.L.B. Rosa, Prasanna Amarasekara and Rohitha Pushpakumara to name a few.
These Army sporting legends continue to inspire a new generation of athletes who are eager to imbibe the military discipline and professionalism to pursue their career and achieve their dreams. Even during the three decades-long civil war, Army were a force to be reckoned in the field of play setting the standards in virtually every sport at national level. During the past decade, Army has raised the bar by creating the environment for elite athletes to attain high performance and achieve their Olympic dreams.
On the directives of Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, since 2018 the Directorate of Sports began recruiting top sports men and women. Under the programme, those who are placed within the top three at Provincial or National level competitions or talented athletes are invited to join the Army to pursue their career. They are also allowed to retain their personal coaches and train at different locations in the country, including the newly constructed Sports Village at the Army Cantonment in Panagoda. The army has pools for 41 of the 61 competitive sports in the country. Normally a soldier has to undergo six months training but those recruited specifically for sports undergo a basic 30-day army training. They are attached to various units thereafter but don’t have to perform Army duties. Their focus is on training to attain excellence in their chosen discipline. They have about 300 international level athletes and over 1,000 national level athletes. Over 350 athletes gained promotion during the Army Day on October 10.
“We pool them and specially groom them for the Olympics. Among the gold medallists at the South Asian Games (SAG) in Nepal, half of them were from the Army. We give them all facilities to train and motivate them. We have about 18 elite athletes who have the potential to achieve Olympic qualification. We also have lot of young athletes who are training to keep their fitness level even during the Covid,” said Brig. Lal Chandrasiri, Army’s Director of Sports.
Army’s investment of recruiting sports stars is reaping dividends with L/Cpl Yupun Abeykoon of SLEME who is training in Italy with the approval of the Army Commander, clocking a South Asian and Sri Lanka record of 10.16 seconds to win a 100-metre race in Germany. Ushan Tivanka Perera, 22, of SLASC, is a high jump athlete training in the USA on a scholarship. They also have two Olympians in Sumedha Ranasinghe and Nadeeka Lakmali while Nilani Rathnayake is also close to Olympic qualification in the 3,000m Steeplechase.
Apart from athletics, Army has a reputation for producing outstanding boxers, are grooming talented swimmers, weightlifters, have medal winning Para athletes and also produced a world champion in bodybuilding Y.G. Amila. Army which had former All Ceylon great Brig. (Dr) H.I.K. Fernando have also revived their cricket portfolio by roping in Sri Lanka stars Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera.
“My dream is to bring glory to Army and Sri Lanka by taking part in the Arnold Classic in America,” said 40-year-old Amila who won the IFBB World Bodybuilding Championship in Dubai last year. He has been Sri Lanka’s champion in the 60-65kg weight for 10 years. He also won the gold medal at the Asian Bodybuilding Championship in 2004.
Joining the army has helped 22-year-old Hashini Prabodha Balasuriya continue her education and sports. Triple jump gold medallist at the Kathmandu SAG, the former student of Holy Family Convent, Wennappuwa is following a degree in Sports and Science Management at the Sri Jayawardenapura University while keeping her Olympic dream alive.
“I am doing sports because of the support given by Army. They provide me nutrition, training and equipment which I cannot cover alone. I want to continue doing sports,” said Balasuriya who trains under Cuban coach Luis Miranda and has a personal best (PB) of 13.40m.
Cpl Nadesh Dilhani Lekamge who has excelled in javelin from a young age joined the army in 2006 to continue her career.
“I am training hard to qualify for the Olympics,” said 33-year-old Lekamge, a past pupil of Erepola MV, Ratnapura, whose PB is 58.41m set in 2018.
Cpl Greshan Dananjaya of SLEME holds the triple jump national record of 16.71m set last year. A product of Joseph Vaz College, Wennappuwa, the 23-year-old from Divulapitiya who is 183cms tall aims to focus on the long jump having a PB of 7.96m.
Among the cross section of athletes the Sunday Times interviewed when they were training at Torrinton Sports Complex before the spike in COVID-19 is the fascinating tale of two Para athletes L/Cpl Palitha Bandara of SLNG and Sgt Buddhika Indrapala of the Commando Regiment.
A freak accident during a volleyball match changed the sports career of 28-year-old Palitha Bandara, who hails from Pallegama, Matale. He suffered a broken knee after a collision with another player and was able to bend his left leg only 45 degrees. By a quirk of fate he became Para athletic national champion in the putt shot F42 category during the last two years setting a record of 12.57m. He went on to win a silver medal at the 2018 Para Asian Games in Indonesia with a PB of 13.26m. He was also placed eighth at the World Para Athletic Championship in Dubai last year with a throw of 12.38m.
“I would have been still playing volleyball if not for the injury where the bone came out from my knee. Olympics is a dream for us. It is because I joined the army that I got an opportunity to continue sports. They treat me no different to normal athletes,” said Bandara.
Indrapala, a gold medallist in the long jump at the 2018 Para Asian Games in Indonesia, is a war hero having suffered a disability when he was wounded by mortar fire during the humanitarian offensive in 2009 at Puthukudiruppu in Mullaitivu.
“I never did athletics in school. I played volleyball. After getting injured I became an athlete,” said the 33-year-old from Verippankulama, Mihintale who has been national number one for the last two years in the Para T42 long jump leaping 5.38 metres in Indonesia.
“We are in this position because of what we got from the army. If they didn’t encourage us, we would not be able to dream of going to the Olympics. Army gave us support from the day we did sports. It is because of sports we have been able to go forward in life,” said Indrapala.
SLMP S/Sgt Chanaka Lakmal Jayaratne from Hali Ela, Uduwara started swimming after joining the army in 2010.
Dilhani Lekamge
“I followed a basic swimming course in Panagoda and took part in inter-regiment meets,” said the 30-year-old who has won bronze medals at the World Military Games and South Asian Aquatic Championships in his pet 200m breaststroke event.
L/Cpl Dilanka Isuru of SLGSC is a 24-year-old weightlifting talent from Udagama, Kurunegala in the 55kg weight category. He joined the force to continue his career, having won a gold medal at the 2016 Junior Commonwealth Championship and bronze medal at the Asian Weightlifting Championship last year, which is a first for Sri Lanka. National champion since 2016, he has a PB of 250kg (110+140) in training.
“Army does a lot to raise the profile of sports in the country. There is no professional sports in Sri lanka but you are treated like professionals in the army. They give plenty of encouragement and invest on sports stars. They even take care of your personal needs,” said Sumedha Ranasinghe, who represented Sri Lanka in the javelin at the 2016 Rio Games.
“I have the skills but lack of funding hindered my progress. I am grateful to the Army for sponsoring my education. I am confident they will help me in future as well,” said 29-year-old Ranasinghe who has completed his degree in Sports and Science Management from the Sri Jayewardenapura University.
A Cpl in the SLEME regiment, Sri Lanka’s number one javelin star for the last three years is just 20 points short of the Olympic qualification mark, having a world ranking of 39 with 1,034 points. A past pupil of Kegalle Vidyalaya, Ranasinghe holds the Sri Lanka record of 83.04 metres set in 2015 and returned from injury to set a seasonal best of 80.76m at the Nationals last year.
“Army is the undoubted leader when it comes to sport. They have a good strategic plan. You can go further in your sports career by joining the army,” said Ranasinghe in a message to aspiring athletes who aim to become professionals in their chosen sport.